Orlando Like a Pro, 3rd Edition (Fodor's)

Guides visitors to the region through such attractions as Universal Studios, Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, and Busch Gardens.

Orlando Like a ProGrab the Mouse by the Tail!

The average room rate in Central Florida is around $50. A soda in a Disney theme park costs around $2. If each person in a family of four has a soft drink with lunch and dinner and takes three cold drink breaks -- a reasonable proposition under the Florida sun -- the group's daily cost for sodas will be $40. This comes close to the price of nightly lodging for many visiting families. And a full week of sodas costs the same as one discounted round-trip airplane ticket to Orlando from many major cities. Walt Disney World's press kit says that the Magic Kingdom serves more than 46 million Coca-Colas each year -- and that's only Coca-Colas, and not any other beverages. That sounds to me like an enormous number of sodas. Yet in all the years I've been going to the theme parks, never once have I heard anyone say that the highlight of his or her vacation was the fabulous cola in the parks.

I'm not saying that you should go without cold drinks on hot days. I'm not trying to pick on the cola guys. But as you read this book you will learn that I hate to be taken advantage of. I wrote this book to help you avoid little things that rob you of your vacation dollars. I wrote this book to teach you things that only a person who's been here since they opened the place would know, to help you save money -- and to show you how to save time. Because, ultimately, when you're on vacation, time is also money.


Figure the Hourly Cost of Your Vacation

Let me explain. To understand the real cost of your visit to each Central Florida attraction, you also have to prorate what you spent to get to the area and stay there. The corollary is that the real cost of riding, say, Space Mountain is not just the cost of getting into the Magic Kingdom. Riding Space Mountain also involves your transportation, lodging, meals, and multiday admission during your entire trip. And you can prorate this figure to give you an idea of how much each waking hour you spend in Orlando actually costs. The hourly figure, together with my exclusive Worth - It Ratings, which I give for nearly every attraction in this book, provide a great answer to the question that arises each time you start a new activity or step into a long line: Is my experience going to be worth my time and my money? My one-to-five-star rating reflects my opinion of whether the experience you'll have there is worth the money it will cost you to get it.

Go Where You Want to Go, Do What You Want to Do!

Central Florida has no fewer than 13 theme parks. There are also seven water parks, over a dozen dinner shows, and several ticketed nightclub attractions. One of the reasons I wanted to write this book is that I've seen over and over that many people miss some of the best of them. When I was at Visitor Information Television and later at Visitor Information Radio, people constantly told us that the Kennedy Space Center was one of the top three places they wanted to visit. Yet surveys of what visitors actually saw always put the Kennedy Space Center below that. What happened? Why did so many people who wanted to go to the Space Center travel all the way to Central Florida, then miss it? Most of the locals I know agree with me that Universal Studios Florida is the best attraction in town. Although millions of people see it every year, millions still miss it. Why?

Part of the answer is probably the simple fact that after most families take in the Walt Disney World theme parks, they have neither time nor money left over. That's why I recommend an alternative strategy for your Central Florida vacation.
Do it backwards. Most people visit Disney first, and Disney does a really great job of taking advantage of that fact to keep them there -- spending their money before they have a chance to spend it anywhere else. So by all means, figure out what you want to do in Orlando. And do it all. But if it includes destinations outside WDW, save the Mouse for last so that you see what want.


Go When You Want to Go

Other guides make a lot of noise about the benefits of traveling off-season, when crowds are smaller and lines shorter. My advice? Go when you want to go. The basic experience varies little from season to season. Don't be afraid of peak times, because the parks are geared up to provide a peak experience. And don't stay away from off-peak times, either. Room and travel rates are lower, compensating for what you may be missing.


Save Big on Tickets (or Get Them Free)

It's a lot easier than you might imagine to save a few bucks.

Never pay full price. Never buy    theme-park tickets at the gate. That's generally the worst possible place to buy them. Not only will you pay more -- you'll have to wait in line to do it. You'll find little booths with signs inviting you to ask about free or discount attraction tickets at convenience and souvenir stores, in parking lots, and in hotel lobbies as far north as Pedro's South of the Border, a hotel and attraction complex near Dillon, South Carolina. These booths are known in the trade as OPCs, short for Off-Premises Contractors, and they sell tickets at between 10% and 20% off the walk-in price. For a family of four, the savings is about $20 a day -- $100 for a five-day vacation! Plus, you'll also save time standing in line.